What If I Disagree with My Pastor?
1) Direct answer
Stay with the Word, keep your spirit right, and handle it in God’s order. Pray, search the Scriptures, speak to your pastor privately with an open Bible, and seek peace. If it’s only preference, submit and keep unity. If it is clear doctrine or practice against the Bible and he will not receive the Word, obey God rather than men and step away quietly without causing strife.
2) Scriptural explanation
- Test everything by Scripture: The Bereans “searched the Scriptures daily” (Acts 17:11). “Try the spirits” (1 John 4:1). If any preach another gospel, “let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8–9).
- Respect the office and approach rightly: “Obey them that have the rule over you” as they watch for your souls (Hebrews 13:17). “Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father” (1 Timothy 5:1). Don’t receive accusations lightly—“before two or three witnesses” (1 Timothy 5:19).
- Handle it in order: Go to him “between thee and him alone” first (Matthew 18:15). If needed, take witnesses, then the church (Matthew 18:16–17). “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).
- Keep unity when it’s not sin or false doctrine: “Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).
- Separate if the Word is rejected: “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). “Mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine…and avoid them” (Romans 16:17). “A man that is an heretic after the first and second admonition reject” (Titus 3:10). “Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3).
3) Simple clarifying logic
- God sets pastors to feed the flock, but the Bible is the absolute. A true shepherd points you to the Word, not away from it.
- If your disagreement is about taste, timing, or non-essential procedure, lay down your preference and keep peace.
- If the issue is clear Scripture—who will you follow, a man or the Word? If a leader asks you to do or believe what the Bible denies, your loyalty belongs to Christ.
- Don’t gossip, don’t rally people, don’t split the church. Speak face to face, with Scripture, in meekness. If there’s no agreement around the Word, step aside quietly and keep your heart clean.
4) Short reinforcing statement
Stay humble, stay Scriptural, and keep the sweetness of Christ. God defends His Word and guides the sincere who put the Bible first.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Hebrews, Chapter 7, part 2
57-0922 §19
And if any persons then has a complaint against a deacon, or against the deacon or somebody in the church, it takes three people. Three people would come and say ... witness at the mouth of two or three witnesses. Come tell the pastor that there's a grievance against a deacon. Then if there's a grievance against a deacon, the deacon isn't a just man, a perfect man... He must hold the office of a deacon blameless, and then found blameless. And if that congregation finds out that that deacon's not holding that office...
Adoption, part 3: Position in Christ
60-0522M §66
Let's read on, see how Paul got it, see what I'm trying to say to you this morning: For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, then I ... not be the servant of Christ. How can I expect anything, how can a man that loves God---a preacher, especially---expect to do anything but be hated by men? Men will hate you. Well, Jesus said, "If they call me, the master of the house... I'm the master, the greatest of all of you. I'm the one can perform more miracles and do more with...
Church Order
63-1226 §47
QUESTION: Others will not listen to anything we say, especially the children. The children are supposed to know discipline, they should get it at home. But even if it's mine, my kids get in here at any time, they get disorderly, I don't want you to draw one string; Sarah, Rebekah, Joseph, Billy, or whoever it might be. You tell me, I'll see to it. If they can't behave, then they'll stay away from church till they do learn to behave. This is not an arena, this is the house of God. This is not a place to play, and sk...
Taking sides with Jesus
62-0601 §71
Now, for instance, if one of you brethren would make a mistake and do something wrong---which you're subject to do it; I am too, every one of us. But as we go along, let's remember we are brothers; we are brothers. And if we've got any fighting, let's fight with one another. Bring it together. Bring it before our brethren and settle it. Now, they used to in the Branham family, if one of the little ones done something, they was going to tell Bill about it, 'cause I was the biggest. And I had to stand there and see w...
Questions and Answers on Hebrews, part 1
57-0925 §85
Then when he did, the Spirit on him told the truth. He tried to curse Israel, and He blessed Israel. Now, if God just respects a fine church, and a fine bishop, and a wonderful pastor, a scholarly bunch of people, He was duty bound to accept that sacrifice, because he was just as fundamentally right as Israel was right; but he didn't have the spiritual revelation of the Word and the will of God. There you are, that's the difference today.